Through July 15. Schedule: 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Sunday and Tuesday through Thursday, to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Open daily starting July 1.

Recommended admission: $25, seniors $17, students $12.

He seems an unlikely subject for artistic glorification. His nose is smashed, his ears are cauliflowered, and his forehead is a landscape of cuts and scars. This is no mighty Hercules or demigod Achilles, but a sporting boxer from the ancient world. He sits weary and hunched over, his head turned, as if he's just heard his name called for his next bout.

Cast in bronze at slightly larger than life size, this statue from the Hellenistic age (331–23 B.C.) is a study in classical realism, all the more accessible to us because he is an ordinary mortal, and one whose hard knocks and wounds are rendered like a map on his face.

"Boxer at Rest" was excavated in Rome in 1885 near the ancient Baths of Constantine. Scholars believe it was buried intentionally during the empire's decline to hide it from barbarian invaders. It normally resides at the Palazzo Massimo museum and is on loan to the Metropolitan Museum for six weeks as part of a yearlong celebration of Italian culture in the United States. The statue has never been outside Europe before.

Unlike most classical statues, in which detail is suppressed in favor of overall balance and proportion, this figure rewards close observation. Look at the carefully rendered, complex gloves. The leather straps probably did more to inflict injury than to protect the wearer's hands. The fur trim was used to wipe away blood and sweat.

Ancient boxers delivered all their blows to the head, which accounts for the facial disfigurement. Bright copper inlays highlight the forehead scars and the streaks of blood that run down the torso. The mouth appears sunken, as if the teeth are missing or pushed in. An area under the right eye was cast with a darker alloy to give it the appearance of a bruise.

Worn areas on the right foot and the hands suggest that the statue was repeatedly touched by people during the centuries it was on display, most likely because, as with other statues of great athletes, it was believed to have healing powers.

The statue is being displayed in the Greek and Roman Galleries near the segment of the giant iconic column from the Temple of Artemis at Sardis. Unlike other such statues in the Met, which are up on tall pedestals, this one sits on a low stone base, putting him right at eye level, another nice touch for a piece that, more than most, speaks across the centuries to people today.